So Much to Change: Yuna Really Married Seymour
by Furaidochikin
Summary: An FFX What-If Love Story about two hearts that should've never been pulled apart...


Disclaimer: I do not nor will I ever own Final Fantasy 10... Damn you, Squaresoft, or Square-Enix, or whatever the heck that company's called now.... I sure as heck didn't make up any of these characters, etc., etc., and blah blah blah. I hope you readers enjoy this short story, for I am not the best writer ever, but I don't think I'm that bad either.... As you know, this is a "What If" kind of fic, so (esp. if you've played the game) if some of the information seems kind of wrong-sounding or out of place, remember, it's just a story! Please don't flame me, I'm just a lowly artist who just felt like writing something, okay? So, onto the fickie...  
  
* * * *  
  
"It's not fair...," said the young Tidus quietly to himself as he stared up into the inky dark abyss that was the starry night sky above Spira. "It's just not fair at all...."  
  
Uh oh. Seems like he's getting angry over You-Know-Who again. He felt like he wanted to punch something really solid really hard, just to watch it shatter, just like his life seemed to have done over and over when it came to that certain someone. And it looks like it did it again.   
  
Tidus put his hands over his face and groaned loudly with an irritated tone. He couldn't take it anymore. That bastard Seymour had taken his only love. He'd already seen disappointment when it came to his father, Jecht, and now he's seen it again. Over... and over... and over. Before recently, every time Seymour had happened to, well, happen upon the group of guardians, he would immediately go to Yuna and flirt like nobody's business. And it's not like Tidus could've very well socked Seymour with all his might.... Not only would Yuna hate him, but Seymour would probably throw him in prison or kill him... He was a Maester, after all. Important. Yeesh. Now Seymour has done the ultimate damage to Tidus. He's gone and married Yuna. He couldn't believe he simply stood around and let it happen. Why didn't he try to stop her?! He had had so many chances... All those times when he and Yuna had been able to talk alone.... Those short periods they had together had been so real, so honest....  
  
He knew Yuna didn't really love Seymour at all. She had just done it to help Spira. At least, that's what Tidus thought she had married him for.... Then, a really awful thought hit Tidus like a blow to the head: What if Yuna really did somehow love Seymour? What if she just said she didn't love him so nobody would be hurt? Maybe Yuna was madly head-over-heels for Seymour and didn't want Tidus to know.... Maybe she was leading him on the whole time! Maybe - -  
  
Ohhh, no - Not that again. Tidus had found himself thinking those things many times over since Yuna had married Seymour and it would just anger him even more than he already was. But what was he going to do now? His life was permanently in pieces now that Yuna was gone for good. "Errgh, why does this have to happen to me?!" He took his hands off his face and, curling his hands into fists, slammed them into the grassy cliff he lay on which luckily didn't break off and fall, considering how hard he hit it. Although falling to an untimely, watery doom sounded pretty good to him right now.... "Yuna, why did you do this to?! I just can't be disappointed one more time or I'll go crazy!"  
  
"You know, I don't think that's so good, ya?" said a voice from a familiar face looking down on Tidus.  
  
He jumped a little. "Wakka? What're you doing here? I thought the rest of you guys had gone to bed," he said, raising an eyebrow. Wakka outstretched a hand and, gripping it, he stood up, a tad wobbly.  
  
"Well, we all did, but Lulu went out to search for something or other and I wanted to loo - -" Wakka stopped quickly, not wanting to give away that he was really looking for Lulu. "Ah, I wanted to help her find it."  
  
Tidus shrugged. He sort of figured Wakka wanted to go after Lulu, but he wouldn't say anything about it. No noogies tonight, that was for sure.  
  
"Can't help you, sorry. She never came around here, though I thought I saw her going back in the direction of that inn where we're all staying at," he said, pointing left to a farther-off little cluster of lights between a couple small huts.  
  
"Oh... Well, now that I know - -, ah, now that we both know that she, ah, found what she was looking for, I guess I can stay out here for a while, ya?" Wakka said. Tidus sighed. Why could Wakka go back to the inn and be with his beloved when he couldn't?! Oh, Tidus knew why.... To save Spira. Wakka and Lulu could spend time together without worrying if Spira was going to fall apart at their hands.... Well, sort of, anyway.  
  
"Yeah, sure..." mumbled Tidus. He sat back down on the grass turned away from the edge and leaned his elbows on his crossed legs, cradling his chin in his hands. "Be my guest." Wakka sat down next to him and crossed his arms.  
  
"What'sa matter with you tonight, ah? You don't seem like your usual self," Wakka said, giving Tidus a nudge in the rubs.  
  
"Nothing, it's really nothing, honestly..." Lied like a rug. Now he's gonna grill me about my problem...,thought Tidus.  
  
"I don't think there's nothin' wrong. Don't make me waste a good noogie on that stupid head of yours," Wakka threatened, putting his hands up and waggling his fingers with a grin on his face.  
  
"Ah, shut it. Just leave me alone, alright?!" Tidus twisted around and looked across the extensive glassy blue-black waters that reached the starry horizon.  
  
"Hm.... Are you mad about Yuna again, man? You know she only married Maester Seymour to help Spira," said Wakka in a fruitless attempt at reassuring Tidus.  
  
"But how do you know that for sure?! She could be totally in love with that bastard and I'll never know it because she's gone forever!" Tidus turned his head to look at Wakka and groaned again. "I mean, Lulu would never go and marry some important moron she's probably not in love with for some reason that could be solved another way and leave you in the dust, would she?! Of course not!"  
  
Wakka gulped and blushed a little. He knew very well that Lulu would think of that other way that problem could be resolved, too, but all he did was nod.  
  
"So why did Yuna do this to me...? I thought she was smarter than that.... I thought she really loved me back...," Tidus said slowly, looking down to the grass.  
  
"Yuna is smarter than that, but what's done is done. Look, I told you before, and you know this as well as the rest of the group does, she did it to help Spira! That's it, don't worry about it! Besides, she'll come visit us and everything!"  
  
Tidus scoffed. That wasn't enough. He needed Yuna. Anything Wakka said about the matter wasn't helping at all.  
  
"Wakka...Do me a favor."  
  
"Ya?"  
  
"Go...away...."  
  
"What? Ah, alright, then...." Wakka stood up and began to walk away from Tidus, but turned for a moment.  
  
"If you ask me, I think that Yuna really does love you, man...."  
  
"Go...away...."  
  
Wakka sighed exasperatedly and finally left him alone, his footsteps gradually fading from earshot.  
  
Tidus flung himself back onto the grass and gazed back up into the inky black sky again with his knees bent up. After some time, he closed his eyes and saw images of Yuna playing back like a film reel against his eyelids. There she was, happy and smiling at some points, then serious at others.... He remembered all of those emotions, all of those facial expressions, but every one of them was gone now; nevermore would he see them live in front of him. Even if Yuna happened to really stop by and visit the group, she would have to stay straight-faced and regal-looking, no matter how much she might want to run up to all of them and embrace them. She was a Maester's wife now, and she was practically completely under Seymour's thumb....  
  
* * * *  
  
Yuna stepped into the doorway of the nearby temple where she and her new husband were visiting for a few days, her arms crossed over her front and her hands holding her upper arms tightly. She heaved a sigh and looked up in the sky, noticing the Tidus-occupied cliff that wasn't too far off in the distance. Of course, she didn't know he was up there, but the grass-covered protrusion from the side of a tall hill was something else to think about and pay attention toward to get her mind off of Tidus, off of Maester Seymour, off of Spira for just a little while.... She leaned her head on the doorframe of the vast temple doorway, a worrisome look upon her pale face and a sigh escaping her pink lips.  
  
"I wonder where he is now.... He must've forgotten me by now, the whole group must not be too worried.... I'm in... safe hands, I suppose...," breathed Yuna. Was this a good idea? Should I have stayed with the others? No, I can't go back now.... What's done is done, she thought.  
  
"Yuna? Are you out here?" called Seymour's voice, which was coming closer. "Ah, Yuna, my dear.... Pray do not stay out too long or you'll catch cold, yes? Now, when you've returned inside, I would like to see you... right away.... Good evening, love," he said finally, and he kissed her cheek, turned around, and walked away with loud, ominous-sounding footsteps in the almost-hollow room.  
  
Once Yuna was sure that he was finally gone, she stepped outside onto the short staircase and began to walk down it. I think I need a walk.... Time seemed to pass very quickly while Yuna took her walk. It was some time before she found herself starting to travel up the length of the grassy hill with the stuck-out cliff. It was like she felt something was waiting for her up there, and she was subconsciously trying to find it.  
  
Since the night was so dark and there wasn't much light around except for the moon, the shadowy lump that was Tidus looked very similar to the various rocks that lay on the cliff, and Yuna seated herself on a rather large boulder but a couple yards from him. She began thinking about how the group must feel now that she was gone from them and that they were no longer her necessary guardians. Even though she probably didn't believe it for a second, she kept telling herself that Tidus and the others weren't bothering themselves about her, that they accepted the fact that she was happy now with her new husband. But she wasn't happy, or at least, it didn't feel like she was....  
  
Suddenly, there was a stir coming from near the edge of the cliff. Yuna jumped slightly, but tried to keep what calm she had. Standing up, she took a few steps toward the rocks over by the edge of the cliff, but kept her distance. Whatever stirred had sat up, shaking its head and sighing.  
  
Oh my.... I'd know that sigh anywhere..., she said to herself internally. She took a couple more steps and gasped quietly.  
  
"... Who's there...? Wakka, I swear if that's you again, I'll rip your- -" Tidus turned around and looked slowly upward, his eyes widening. "- -head... off...." He bolted up from the grass and put a hand behind his head. "Yuna?! What're you doing here? I- -.... Wh-why aren't you with Maester Seymour, eh?" he said, a faked cold tone plaguing his words at the end.  
  
"Tidus...Please don't be angry with me...," she said.  
  
"Why shouldn't I be...?"  
  
"Tidus, I didn't marry him for- -"  
  
"For love, right? Sure, I've fallen for that one already...," he lied to himself.  
  
"No, no, I swear, I just wanted to help Spira! I... just wanted to help Spira.... I never meant to hurt you at all...."  
  
"Of course you didn't.... That's what everyone says, and it's always a big fat lie!" Tidus said roughly, turning away from Yuna and taking a seat on a large rock with his back to her, arms folded.  
  
"I'm sorry, Tidus, I really am, but this whole marriage was the only way I could think to support and save Spira! I didn't want to leave you and all of the others behind!" Yuna called to him without moving. "I swear it, I wouldn't want to hurt you at all, ever.... Please, don't be so cold...." She sat on a nearby rock and looked at the back of Tidus' head, watching each blonde hair move with the chilly midnight breeze, longing to hold that face of his but unable to will herself to do it.  
  
He ran his hands through is hair and sighed again heavily. "Yuna... I'm sorry.... I didn't mean those things.... I know what you're saying, and I know- - I know that you didn't marry Seymour because you're in love with him...." He stood up and turned toward her, his eyes sparkling with regret at her. "Yuna, there's- - there's something I want to tell you.... Something that I've always wanted to tell you ever since I figured it out...."  
  
"... I, uh, what is it...?" She stood up from the big rock, leaning her weight on one leg.  
  
"Yuna, I...."  
  
"What is it, Tidus...? You can tell me anything...."  
  
"Yuna, I... I... I'm in love with you." There, I said it! Finally, she knows how I feel....  
  
Yuna was a little bit dumbstruck, but not as dumbstruck as she thought she would be. In fact, this whole revelation was something she'd realized about her own feelings while considering taking Seymour's hand to marry him for a good cause which didn't include romance.  
  
"Tidus..., you know that I.... That I've fallen in love with you, as well.... I just couldn't deny it to myself any longer!" she said with a shaking voice.  
  
Tidus took a deep breath and let it out slowly, taking in the last three minutes, savoring them, understanding them as best he could. Yuna loves me.... Yuna loves me.... Yuna truly loves me....  
  
"So... what now? I mean, now that we know our true feelings for each other...?" said Yuna, looking down at her feet, her face pink.  
  
"I think I know...."  
  
Tidus lifted a hand to her chin and tilted her face upward to stare straight into it. She looked so beautiful in the moonlight, her pale face illuminated by that light. He wanted to keep it all for himself, to love and keep forever.  
  
"Tidus...?"  
  
But before Yuna could say anything else, Tidus leaned his face forward and kissed Yuna with as much passion as he felt for her every waking moment. At first, Yuna was surprised, but she finally collapsed into the kiss and returned it in one hundred percent.  
  
They finally pulled away from each other after a few earnest moments of true love, and they gazed at each other yet again.  
  
"Tidus, I don't know what to say...."  
  
"Then don't say anything...."  
  
"I can't stay here right now.... I- - I have to go back to the temple.... I must return to Maester Seymour...."  
  
"Why? Just stay here... with me."  
  
"I... can't."  
  
"Yuna, you can- -"  
  
Yuna put a finger to his lips to quiet him. "Don't worry.... I'll make sure that we will see each other again in the near future...."  
  
"But Yuna, I can't live like this! You can't live like this! Why don't you just forget Seymour and save Spira with the rest of the group?!"  
  
"Because marrying Seymour will save Spira...."  
  
"No it won't, Yuna! He only wanted to marry you because he's a complete fool who wouldn't care about your feelings if they bit him in the butt! Come on, just at least stay with me here for a little while longer...."  
  
"But I can't.... Oh, Tidus...." She looked around helplessly, but finally realized where her tried and true feelings lay. She walked toward the edge of the cliff and sat down with her back to him, and patted the space next to her. "If we must have but these few moments together...."  
  
Tidus sat down next to Yuna and she leaned her head on his shoulder.  
  
"But just for reassurance, Yuna, Seymour won't come up here and find us, will he? If he does, he'll kill me.... Literally."  
  
"Oh, I don't think so.... He'll may look determined enough, but when it comes to the evening, he'll say he 'wants to see me right away' but he ends up sleeping like a rock and his snoring gets in the way of his thought train," she said with a smile and a chuckle.  
  
"Oh.... Good...."  
  
* * * *  
  
Well, that's the end! Hope you all enjoyed it. Please review it, and like I requested before, no flames.... Constructive criticism is okay, but flames are not welcome on this end. I know very well that I'm not the best writer ever, but I at least try, dernit! Okly-dokly, see you later, everyone! And thanks to Dweia for getting me into Final Fantasy and all that good stuff! Jaa ne! --Neko 


End file.
